The following letters were submitted in the past week to NewCanaanite.com.
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While we are advocates of building a new, modernized New Canaan Library, we are also in favor of protecting and repurposing the 1913 Library Building, an historic and architecturally significant connection to New Canaan’s past. The two buildings can live side by side.
Why would the NCL demolish the 1913 building and make a “town green” overlooking a parking lot and the most accident-prone corner in New Canaan? In the process, the NCL is erasing a cultural landmark that means so much to so many, and is creating a hugely divisive issue that will affect its own fundraising efforts going forward.
In an election year, why would town leadership back this troubled plan, a growing wedge issue in town?
Given that the NCL is demanding $10 million in taxpayer dollars for the new structure, as well as asking the town to underwrite a $5 million note, in taking over the Center School parking lot (which generates revenues for the town and will contribute to an active and unsafe pedestrian walkway for families and the disabled), taxpayers are called to be further involved in this “private” endeavor. As the town pays 75% of the Library’s operating budget, taxpayers should have a say in what happens to the 1913 Library building. So far, New Canaan leadership has ignored the outcry of New Canaan families to stop the destruction of this beloved landmark. A compromise should be reached. We are hopeful that P&Z will lead the way
Thank you for your careful consideration of this situation.
Sincerely,
Lynn and Warren Tuttle
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To whom it may concern,
I am a proud New Canaanite of 24 years. My entire life, I have admired and cherished our town’s dedication to innovation and improvement, as well as its unfailing commitment to its historical roots and beauty. Our veneration of New Canaan’s vibrant past and all who contributed to our town’s success, as well as our eye for future improvements that will benefit generations of New Canaanites to come, is what makes our town so special. This delicate balance is kept already for many of our town’s historical structures; the Waveny House’s original structure and character is carefully maintained despite plans to install an elevator in the main hall, which will increase building accessibility to residents and visitors. Our town center’s charming essence is cherished by our residents and visitors, and there is care taken to maintain this feel even with the cropping up of newer modern structures. It is crucial to the ethos of this town that our balance of past, present, and future be applied to the plans for our gorgeous library building.
Our library is an irreplaceable landmark and a staple to our town’s character. Its structure and purpose has been carefully improved upon over the years, and yet it has kept true to its original feel and purpose. Why, in 2021, over 100 years after its construction, the town feels this structure is no longer malleable to our town’s needs and future plans is beyond my understanding. Our original library building will always be able to serve our town, just as modified versions of Waveny House and Town Hall have. Even with the construction of a more modern library structure beside it, the original building can and should be utilized in countless ways by many of the communities and organizations that thrive in our town. Rather than force our library, one of New Canaan’s most beautiful and visible historical landmarks, into a devastating final chapter, allow it to metamorphose and continue to serve our community.
The destruction of the library will undoubtedly compromise the spirit of New Canaan. No longer will our preservation and respect of old be balanced with the welcoming of new. If we do not protect the structures that make New Canaan feel like home and bond our residents together, our town will be forever changed and will continue down a path of disregard. I implore you, for the sake of our residents, our pride in our beautiful town, and the generations to come who will experience a love for this building like I have: Please do not tear down our library.
Thank you.
Maddie Dijs
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I have long held the view that both the New Canaan Library building (NCL) and the existing 1913 library building, with its gallery (1913), can coexist harmoniously on whatever plan the NCL presented for its future. I have also believed that 1913 cannot realistically, practically, or financially responsibly, be moved to any other location.
As NCL plans were not available until only last week, I could never be sure just how this could work, but, now that I have had a chance to study all 400 pages of the application materials, I am more confident that this is achievable.
The NCL plans appear to target, deliberately, 1913 so that its removal becomes essential, and therefore inevitable. But with some redesign, which I am in the process of doing, I am confident that the site can be configured to accommodate 1913 comfortably while providing attractive outdoor space for the benefit of both buildings.
For those who are anxious for a quick answer, I would say that I am working on it, and it is complicated, and I have only had access to the new NCL drawings for ten days. The library has been working on this for five years, so patience is in order. However, I do remain confident that with the right people in the room, with the right attitude, there can be a much brighter future for the 1913 than the NCL administration has been projecting.
I will be presenting my recommended solution to the Planning and Zoning Commission (NCPZ) when those hearings permit input from the public. I am not in opposition to the NCL building and adoption of my proposal would not hold up, or slow down, the overall NCL project.
NCL claims to have a clear vision for its future showing the complete elimination of 1913, but the Town of New Canaan also is on record with a clear vision for its future, as expressed in its adopted Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). The NCL plans are in direct contradiction to POCD in many areas, especially those relating to historic buildings and downtown, and the POCD pre-dates the NCL plans, which should be required to conform to the POCD, rather than the other way around.
In the meantime, I hope as many people as possible will demonstrate their interest in seeing 1913 saved, by writing to the town administration including members of NCPZ, the Board of Selectman, the Board of Finance, and the Town Council and also by signing any petitions, in person, or online for Friends of Our 1913 Library.
Your expressed opinions will matter, and it will be counted.
Keith Simpson FASLA
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It is New Canaan’s budget season, and it appears we are having the same debate over the same start time proposal as last year. The Board of Education is again requesting $1MM of our tax dollars to swap “too early for high school” start times with our elementary school children. Giving our youngest learners the dubious honor of having the earliest elementary school start times in all of Connecticut, an hour earlier than the average of other top ranked schools. Our admirable Town Council’s fiscal prudence last year may have been the only thing holding back the BOE from implementing its ill-conceived plan.
So, the question remains. Is this swap worth more than $1 million this year and likely over $250k each year going forward? I contend that not only is it not worth it, but we could be doing harm to our elementary school children and long-term damage to our current highly ranked school system.
Here are the facts (as always, if any of these facts are substantively incorrect, I am happy to address):
- This current plan is exactly the same as last year’s plan. The price tag also remains over $1MM and having a poorly planned mid-year implementation appears to do little but enable proponents to imply that this plan is only half its true cost.
- Sleep is important for all children. Advocates of this plan claim that medical research indicates a need for adolescents to get a recommended amount of sleep. But those very same sleep tables which dictate recommended sleep for adolescents also recommends up to 3 hours more sleep for elementary school children.
- Does it make sense to pay $1 million to flip our top ranked educational system upside down? Considering our top ranked Elementary schools and school system remains a primary reason that many families move to New Canaan. This change would create the earliest Elementary School start time in all of CT and an hour earlier than peers.
- Of the neighboring towns that have recently changed their start times none have “swapped” their high school and elementary school start times. These towns include Greenwich, Westport and Norwalk. Some have specifically indicated that they considered swapping times but decided against it over elementary school student sleep and safety concerns.
- Academic research clearly warns of potential Academic and Behavioral issues for Elementary School children when swapping high school and elementary school times (these have been provided in a previous New Canaanite letter). In addition, there also appears to be a notable correlation between early elementary school start times and poor performance on a nationwide basis.
- To counter the Science, Research, and Precedent the administration appears to have come up with “Optimal Learning Time”. Which simply amounts to “We asked elementary school staff and they say that kids appear more alert in the morning and less so in the afternoon”. Approached with this would anybody say that actual time of day must be the determining factor? I think the logical conclusion is that actual time of day has truly little to do with the responses you received and everything to do with how long a 5-, 6- or 7-year-old child can concentrate and focus, which is only lessened with sleep deprivation. I think even we, as adults who can identify and better cope with tiredness, are less effective after an intense day of work. Simply starting earlier in the day will not remedy that.
- Two separate surveys were taken, the initial “Hanover Study” (June 2019) was commissioned by the BOE and funded by our tax dollars. This survey of over 3,200 stakeholders (Parents, Teachers and Students) provided 5 start time scenarios to the respondents. Despite a meaningful under representation of elementary school and 5/6 grade students the current option was the most opposed of all the options, with more than half of respondents opposed. The BOE followed this up with another survey that October and the current scenario again scored the lowest of 3 options provided.
- A petition was circulated which simply asked for “Equitable Treatment” for our youngest learners garnered over 500 signatures in less than a week and almost 100 comments advocating for another alternative.
- There is a simple way to find out if this plan works for parents and students. The administration likely has the email address of almost every parent with children attending our schools as well as each High School student and every teacher. Why not objectively describe the schedule change and request a simple “Yes” or “No” vote? Although I think it is extremely unfair to exclude the rest of our tax paying community in this $1 Million decision, I believe this plan will still fail to garner support. I contend that this simple solution to find out what works best for all the school community is not done because the BOE and Administration already know the likely result.
Since the BOE Start Time website provides no science or research on the affect this change will have on our elementary school children or the negative feedback provided by many parents and the community a website was created to house just some of this information. In the interest of fair consideration of the current plan I invite you all to assess the information and see if it justifies some concern for our very youngest and most vulnerable learners. NC Start Time Equity
Many of those who oppose the current proposal support more sleep for High Schoolers. However, we believe this is a plan that does not consider the health and well-being of many of our children. If this plan is over $1MM then why is the two-tiered solution offered in the Hanover Study, which faced lower opposition and maintained more reasonable start times for all students, not more seriously considered? It remains unclear as to what this alternative would cost, as the current proposal appears to be the only one that was truly priced out. Or perhaps there can be some compromise from the current proposal or some efficiencies that can be gained elsewhere. I believe that for $1MM we can find a solution that better considers the health of all our students and does not potentially sabotage our top ranked school system.
If the BOE continues to push this divisive plan than I believe it is time for a town referendum, which would be the most democratic alternative. I sincerely hope that it does not come to that and the BOE can reconsider this plan and offer a more equitable solution for the good of all our students and the town.
James Yao
Although I have written this letter advocating for more reasonable School Start times, in the interest of time those who are interested can simply visit the website https://www.ncstarttimeequity.org for more information on the proposed change. Thank You..
Hooray for the Tuttle’s and Maddie Dijs! I could not agree more with their points of view in connection with preserving the 1913 Stone Library while also undertaking the Library expansion project. And high praise for the very capable Keith Simpson for actually working on a viable solution to this debate, so that those of us New Canaanites who love this town can “have our cake and eat it too”!
Editor,
To paraphrase the late H.L. Mencken ‘The good people of the New Canaan Library, Inc. (NCLI) have decided what New Canaan needs, and plan to give it to us good and hard’.
NCLI decided that our grand century old library is passé and that its replacement must be something shiny and new–an architectural statement–an homage to mid-century modernism– as befitting the style of our charming village as a spider on a wedding cake. It is planned to sit atop a grand presentational lawn – a back lawn made possible only by the $10 million equivalent value requisition of Town property – roughly half New Canaan’s adjacent Center School Parking lot.
You see, ostensibly at the eleventh hour, NCLI realized that its planned underground parking design wouldn’t fit within its modest, but growing $38 million budget. Rather than continue to utilize its currently sufficient parking area and sacrifice its grand back lawn, NCLI usurped nearly half of our Town’s Center School parking lot for a $10,000 per year rent (~72% of which will be paid by New Canaan taxpayers). Never mind the inconvenience of it being located on the opposite side of Maple Street a two-way thoroughfare. They know folks will be careful crossing the street going to and from the Library and handicapped parking will be kept close to the street. But in return the lawn will provide an area to relax and enjoy much needed greenery – Mead Park being too long blocks away – with a commanding view of the Morse Court parking lot and two rather awkwardly situated of gas stations.
That’s the ‘good’ part. The ‘hard’ part is the cost, which is a bit difficult to determine precisely, since the library is part of a “public/private partnership”. While the Town of New Canaan provides 72+% of NCLI’s annual operating costs, our Town has little, if any, direct effect on NCLI board decision making. The amount of funds contributed by and to be contributed by NCLI’s unidentified generous benefactors is largely opaque. What is known it that our Town officials plan on subsidizing construction of a new library building with a $10 million grant, to be funded by a planned 20 year bond issue, bearing interest at the rate of ~2.5% per annum, requiring Town debt service beginning at $750,000 in its first year. To date, as best we know, NCLI has raised $8 million in cash, with an equal amount pledged to be contributed sometime in the future. The dangerous and clever part is that NCLI has separately arranged additional construction financing through a local bank, Bankwell—an up to $15 million first mortgage and senior secured loan at a 4.25% per annum interest rate—1.7X the Town’s expected bond interest rate. The reason our Town officials seem to blithely go along with NCLI’s proposed private loan, at commercial interest rate (72+% of which excessive interest cost will be paid by New Canaan taxpayers) is difficult to fathom.
This is where things get a bit dicey. In return for its $10 million grant and the $10 million equivalent value to NCLI Center School Parking spaces lease, the Town acquires no equity in either the structure or the property they will sit on, while our Town loses rent and development opportunity at this municipal parking lot. Bankwell’s construction line of credit term sheet provided to NCLI makes it clear that this bank will be first mortgage and first lien secured by all NCLI property and assets! One unhidden view involving NCLI is that, in the event NCLI would default its proposed Bankwell line of credit, this bank’s collateral position will be dispositive! Let’s put aside the question of whether it is illegal for a municipality to take a second mortgage/lien position behind the prime mortgage/lien position of a private entity. The Town Of New Canaan’s proposed second mortgage/lien position, in consideration of its proposed $10 million contribution to the new library building project will be useless in the event of NCLI’s default on its proposed Bankwell line of credit. Adding insult to prospective injury, NCLI believes that its ‘partnership’ gives it an indirect line to the Town’s purse should it default on its proposed Bankwell line of credit. Not without reason, the Town would find it insuperable to allow the unfinished building to sit derelict on South Ave.
Why even consider NCLI defaulting its proposed Bankwell line of credit? This begs the question: how will NCLI service the interest and principal borrowed under its proposed Bankwell line of credit, while also funding the approximately 25% of its annual operating expenses? NCLI assurers us its new library building will be extremely efficient, and that in future years it will require no more than its current $2,320,250 annual New Canaan taxpayer contribution. But this assertion does not begin to address the essential question: “from what source(s) will NCLI be able to raise moneys to fund both its diminishing proportion of its increasing annual operating expenses AND to pay its Bankwell debt? How indeed?
The funds necessary to underwrite NCLI’s $38 million building project (more on NCLI’s newest estimate in a moment) the following are required:
NCLI contributions: $ 8 million
Town contribution: $10 million
Bankwell loan: $15 million
Additional minimum of NCLI contributions: $5 million.
However, another gnawing detail lies in the likelihood that this project can’t be completed as designed for less than $40 million to $50 million. It’s hard to be more specific and detailed, in that NCLI doesn’t share its construction estimates. More than one architect consulted has expressed skepticism about NCLI’s current $38 million cost estimate. (this skepticism excludes the compounded added costs required by Covid compliant construction.)
In sum the Town of New Canaan will be expected to pay:
annually $2,320,250 + NCLI operating expenses
$750,000 first year (then modestly declining) annual debt service on the 20 year bond to be issued to finance New Canaan’s $10 million NCLI grant, AND
all, or the majority of the interest and principal on NCLI’s $15 million borrowings from Bankwell.
These expected Town of New Canaan payments do not include the $10 million equivalent value to NCLI of the “gift” of 76 Center School parking spaces. Significantly, the foregoing assumes that all of NCLI’s pledged contributions will materialize, and that the NCLI’s new building project is completed on budget. (A recent survey found that only 31% of municipal building projects were completed within budget.)
So, what does this leave the Town’s taxpayers? The loss of a splendid century old landmark. The loss of almost half of the Town’s most attractive parking lot. An incongruous (suitable for a modern college campus or corporate research park) new library building, substantially the same size as NCLI’s current facility, but one glaringly out of context with our colonial New England village.
And last, but not least, we New Canaan taxpayers will be “blessed” with a grandiose lawn, one precious few yearn for. All this for assuming or guaranteeing $30 – $40 million in new, combined expenses, debt and other obligations for an organization that has experienced a 58% decline in visits to its existing facilities over the last decade.
Should we the citizen taxpayers of New Canaan be willing to indulge the NCLI for what it plans to give us good and hard? You be the judge.
Ken Klenk
New Canaan Preservation Alliance
Finance Committee
Thank you, Ken, for this eloquent and detailed letter. Your insights and perspective on the New Canaan Library project are eye openers! Wake up, New Canaan, before it is too late.